It’s no secret that many people feel sick after drinking alcohol, but there might be more to that sick feeling after drinking. In cases where people drink large amounts over a long period of time, alcohol vitamin deficiency can appear. And that’s a problem, both because it creates a host of health issues, and because veterans are at increased risk of developed alcohol vitamin deficiency.
Keep reading for an overview of what alcohol vitamin deficiency is, how it works, and what veterans can do to heal from alcohol addiction.
What Is Alcohol Vitamin Deficiency?
When an individual drinks heavily for a long time, they sometimes experience a phenomenon where their bodies do not absorb sufficient amounts of essential vitamins. This is alcohol vitamin deficiency, and it typically manifests as the body not receiving enough of at least one of the following vitamins:
- Folate
- Vitamin B
- Thiamine
- Vitamin A
But what do vitamins and alcohol have to do with each other? Well, there are actually a number of ways that drinking habits can impact nutrition.
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First and foremost, veterans with alcohol use disorders most likely get the majority of their calories from alcohol, so they may eat very little actual food. Moreover, the nausea that comes with heavy drinking can also discourage people from eating enough when they drink.
Unfortunately, however, alcohol vitamin deficiency cannot be solved solely by eating healthy foods while drinking, because the body’s process for digesting alcohol can stop vitamins from being properly absorbed. This means that even if you eat a healthy diet while drinking heavily, you can still develop alcohol vitamin deficiency if your body is not properly metabolizing or digesting nutrients.
Without proper treatment, alcohol vitamin deficiency can result in a host of unpleasant symptoms, including depression, anxiety, fatigue, and even neurological disorders. This is especially concerning for veterans, who face increased risk of developing alcohol vitamin deficiency and experiencing more complicated symptoms.
How Does Alcohol Vitamin Deficiency Affect Veterans?
Whether it’s due to combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, or another invisible wound of war, veterans face increased risk of developing alcoholism. As a result, their ability to absorb proper vitamins and nutrients may be impaired due to alcohol. This is especially true among veterans who binge drink, which is when a veteran drinks four or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting, since the sudden and dramatic increase in alcohol consumption can disrupt the digestion process.
And not only are veterans at a higher risk to develop alcohol vitamin deficiency, but they also face greater dangers from the symptoms. This is because many of the effects are mental, which can worsen existing PTSD symptoms. For veterans who do not have access to treatment or who have not made a suicide prevention plan, this increase in symptoms can be dangerous.
This is why it’s important for veterans to seek professional addiction treatment. While some companies market vitamins for recovering alcoholics, these are temporary solutions, and they do nothing to address other adverse health effects of alcohol. This is why the best course of action for veterans in Florida is to enroll at a veteran rehabilitation center.
Treating Alcohol Addiction Near Orlando, Florida
Alcohol addiction recovery starts with helping your body heal. At Heroes’ Mile, this begins in our veteran detox program. At this level of care, professional medical staff will help you safely detox from alcohol while healing from alcohol abuse. This means medical supervision to ensure your comfort and safety, nutritious foods to help the healing process, and, if necessary, administering vitamins for alcohol detox. In this way, your body can get the nutrients it needs while it re-learns how to process essential vitamins.
But while alcohol detox addresses the physical causes of addiction, it does not treat the mental areas. For this crucial support, you will want to attend a residential alcohol rehabilitation program. This addiction treatment option can greatly lower your risk of relapse by providing important recovery programming, like:
- Veteran-focused individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Art therapy
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy
- Spiritual healing
- Nutritional assessment and food plan
- Various recreational activities
- Counseling services for family members
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Job-ready preparation and training in conjunction with our community partners
And even after completing residential treatment, it’s normal to need additional support as you transition back to daily living. Many veterans find that staying sober becomes much harder once they’re back in their regular life and not at a rehabilitation center. For that reason, we offer both a partial hospitalization program and an intensive outpatient program. These outpatient treatment programs allow you to live at home while attending treatment. In this way, veterans can apply recovery strategies to real-world situations and receive support during this adjustment period.
At Heroes’ Mile, we believe that it takes a veteran to understand how to help veterans. That’s why all of our treatment programs have been designed by veterans, for veterans. Alcohol vitamin deficiency is a serious issue, and we’re ready to help you beat it through long-term addiction recovery.
Have questions for us, or want to know how to enroll in a treatment program? Call our friendly admissions specialists at 888-838-6692 or fill out our confidential contact form. Come see how we can help you overcome alcohol vitamin deficiency!
